10 July 2009

The World From Michael Vick to Sarah Palin

In contemplating how quickly Michael Vick should be permitted to return to the NFL, Sports Illustrated quotes, among others, Malcolm Gladwell, who sums it up perfectly in my estimation.

"Let's see, Leonard Little got drunk and killed another human in a car accident. He served 90 days in jail and got suspended for eight games. Vick was cruel to some dogs. He went to jail for a year and a half. And we're wondering if Vick can play in the NFL? Please."

On the flip side, it also draws an analogy to Brett Myers. More specifically, Philadelphia fans who conveniently forgot his, um, troubles.

The evidence is overwhelming that, should Goodell reinstate Vick and should Vick continue to be contrite, the football player, at least, will be forgiven by his fans. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers was arrested and charged with assault and battery after he punched his wife on a downtown Boston street while they argued in June 2006. Myers's wife not only posted his bail but also insisted that she didn't want him prosecuted. The charge was subsequently dismissed over the objection of the prosecutor. But what Philadelphia fans remember is that Myers pitched strongly in the last half of the 2008 season as the Phillies went on to win the World Series. ... As one Phillies veteran puts it, "In the middle of the game you're not out there thinking, He killed dogs."

There is virtually nothing about Palin’s performance in the fall campaign that should have come as a surprise to John McCain. Had he really attempted to learn something about her before the fateful day of August 29, 2008, when he announced that she was his choice for running mate, he would easily have discerned all the traits that he belatedly came to know.The narrative that the McCain campaign employed to explain Palin’s selection and to promote her qualifications—that she was a fresh-faced reformer who had taken on Alaska’s big oil companies and the corrupt Republican establishment, governing with bipartisan support—was never more than superficially true.

... and some you may not have (Politico's niche-driven flood-them-with-info future-of-journalism lesson, and the detailed end of Heath's life.)Which leads to my question: Is what Vick did to doggies markedly worse than what Sarah does to moosies?